Save Her, Her Innocence Is Dying
by herwhiteknight
Summary: "The first time she saw Chloe cutting, she wanted to throttle her."


A/N: This is my first ever Pricefield fic and I'm actually really happy with the way it turned out.. well, the characterization, at least. I hope that you guys can really _hear_ their voices the way that I did as I was writing this story. I hope to write more for them really soon, but I don't know what kinds of things I can write from them just yet. Stay tuned I guess? Maybe I'll get inspiration when episode 4 _finally_ comes out...

Please review if you so desire, that way I can gauge how well my characterization panned out! :)

* * *

The first time she saw Chloe cutting, she wanted to throttle her.

"Go on Max," Joyce had encouraged her after Max had stepped inside the house. "Chloe's just upstairs.. she's been waiting for you."

So Max had gone up the stairs, and was just about the nudge her way past the door decorated with the _Wrong Way_ sign when she had heard it. A sharp intake of breath, followed by a long, almost relieved exhale. Through the crack between the door and its frame, she saw it. _Her._ Chloe, with her back turned, one arm propped on her storage space of a desk, palm bared to the ceiling, the other streaking red lines across her forearm.

She had backed away then, thumping against the wall as she tried to catch her breath. _I could confront Chloe.. I_ should _confront her. If it doesn't go well, I can always rewind and knock..._ But the idea of using her powers in a situation like this.. it made her ill.

Chloe's door opened, and Chloe appeared at the threshold, cradling her left arm carefully. Their eyes locked in the next second, and Chloe's face paled. "Shit...," she hissed, hastily attempting to hide her exposed arm behind back as she tugged the sleeve of her jacket down over the wounds, only succeeding in aggravating them more. "Shit, shit shit!" she snarled, leaning against her doorpost for support.

"C..Chloe?" Max asked in shock, drifting forwards towards the other girl. "Have you-?"

Completely aware that she was cornered and had been busted, Chloe turned the dial up on her sass-mode, "Yes I've been cutting," she drawled, throwing both arms up in the air in exasperation, wincing as her left forearm came in contact with her hip upon descent. "I'm depressed, right? That's the stereotype, isn't it?"

"Chloe, I had no idea you were hurting this bad...," Max murmured, drawing closer and raising a hand to touch the other girl's shoulder.

"Of course you didn't," Chloe spat with venom, snatching her arm away and hissing once more as the movement jarred her fresh wounds. "Fuck!" she growled, pushing past Max with the opposite shoulder, heading towards the bathroom. "Look, if you wanna lecture me.. fine. Just do it while I'm cleaning up here, alright?"

Max stood dumbfounded, staring after her best friend for a few moments before following her gingerly into the bathroom. "How long have you been doing this?" she asked, "You.. you should tell somebody!"

"Tell someone?" she scoffed, "Right. Like who? The day you ditched me after my dad left was absolute hell! Mom was stuck in her spiral and _you_ never bothered to contact me! I had no one left to talk to, Max! But, sure. I'll tell someone _now,_ since Moral Max is telling me to do it now."

"Okay, well.. maybe not but.. I'm here now, aren't I? And we can get through this together!" Max insisted as Chloe dug through the medicine cabinet with one hand, while keeping the other over the sink to catch any droplets of blood. _It looks like she's done this so many times before,_ Max thought as Chloe manoeuvred the bandages and polysporin with ease.

"You know what? I've changed my mind," she huffed as she turned on the faucet and gently rinsed the cuts, "I _don't_ want this lecture. Why don't you just rewind and we can both forget that this conversation ever happened."

"It doesn't work like-" Max started to say, but stopped herself as she looked at her best friend in the mirror. Her eyes were clouded over with frustration and anger and a little bit of fear too. _She's vulnerable. She_ hates _being vulnerable. Maybe it's all for the best if I just..._

While Chloe was busy with the application of her antibiotic cream, Max took one last look at the expressions flickering across Chloe's face and raised her hand.

Time whipped past her as she sought to undo the conversation first, then the discovery. She rewound until she once again found herself outside of Chloe's house. Joyce let her in once more with a warm smile. "Chloe's upstairs, she's been-"

"I think I'll just talk with you for a little while, Joyce," Max smiled warmly, wishing the rewind pulled the memory of Chloe's wounds out of her head too. "Chloe will come down when she's ready."

"Well, alright Max Caulfield. If you insist," Joyce shrugged after regarding her with a long, strange look.

Chloe came clumping down the stairs several minutes to find Max and her mom sitting at the kitchen room table, flipping through an old photo album. "Couldn't resist talking behind my back for five minutes, could ya?" she snarked as she entered the kitchen and leaned against the wall.

Before Joyce could discipline her, Max shot up from her chair and pulled Chloe into a long, warm hug, taking care not to jostle Chloe's recently wounded arm. "Uh. What the hell, Max?" Chloe asked, confused, but retracting her arms from under Max's to return the hug.

"Oh.. uh.. nothing," she shrugged with a light blush as she stepped back. Rubbing her neck awkwardly and casting a glance to the floor, she continued, "Just.. uh... thought you might've needed that."

"I.. yeah, thanks Max. I did," Chloe's voice came from above softly. There was a slight pause, then Max felt the pressure of Chloe's hand squeezing her shoulder, causing her to look up. Chloe was smiling, _actually_ smiling. "Now let's go see what kind of trouble we can get into today hippie!"

"Right behind you," Max grinned, tossing a wave over her shoulder at Joyce as she nearly bounced out of the house and into Chloe's truck. _Y_ _es Max! I guess this whole rewind thing isn't so bad after all. If only because it makes Chloe smile._


End file.
